Across Asia, children are living past their 1st birthday at record rates that underscore just how successful the region has been at raising the standards of living.
In India, China, and Indonesia—the world’s 3 most populous nations, infant mortality rates have fallen to record lows.
The most populous of the 3, India, recorded a drop in its infant mortality rate of 30 per 1,000 live births in 2019 to 24 in 2024. Tragically this is still more than 4-times higher than the US, but India is a vast nation with a dramatic variance in income and poverty levels.
Several states including lower-income Bihar and higher income Tamil Nadu have recorded nearly 50% drops in the mortality rate. Part of the success has been the dramatic rise in the percentage of live births where mothers received medical attention—from 83% to 95% over the same period.
In 2025, China’s infant mortality rate dropped to 3.8 per 1,000 live births, and the under-5 mortality rate fell to 5.4 per 1,000 live births, according to Fu Wei, director of the country’s Department of Maternal and Child Health.
This was fewer infant mortality events than countries like the US, France, and Portugal, and a major accomplishment for an upper-middle income country. China’s public medical insurance, though covering 95% of the country, is lean in terms of what it will insure against, and how much it will cover in terms of cost.
Among its free offerings is medical care for children aged 0-6, aiming to build a foundation of health and reduce future impacts on the health system for the rest of the child’s life.
Lastly, in Indonesia, considered along with China to be an upper-middle income country, the country recorded its lowest ever infant mortality rate of 14 per 1,000 live births in 2024. This marks a 50% fall from 2010 according to data from the World Bank Group.
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